Nice run today. Laura did four mile after she got off work and finished without any pain! I’m really hopeful that she will make a full recovery. Laura’s goal for Sunday’s long run is to go 10 miles with no pain. This should determine if she is fully recovered.

My goal for Sunday and here on out, is concentrating on hydrating, fueling and carb loading. So far we’ve been pretty disciplined in this area except for incorporating protein during our long runs. This Sunday, I’m going to use Cliff Bar during the 17er. I’ve used CB in climbing, hiking and cycling and the taste isn’t bad. Plus, a friend suggested it. Luckily, Laura loves to cook and she has been cooking pasta and other carb enriched meals during the week. I’m lucky to have her to cook for us because otherwise, it would be mac and cheese or roman noodles. -A

Yesterday was a great run! I ran mile one solo and the rest of the five miles with Laura!!! Her return was well anticipated and a pleasant relief that she completed with no severe pain. Her Achilles tendon wasn’t giving her a problem but she did feel some tightness in her left calf. We are going to monitor it over the next few runs and then make a judgment call. We feel that she will be able to determine how well she is once she runs 8 to 10 miles this week. If no sign of serve pain returns this week then she’ll be ready to return to the normal running schedule for week 10.

The good thing for Laura is that she is cardiovascularly prepared to run 26.2. However, it’s not quite clear if she is physically prepared. If the pain returnsin these shorter runs, it will result to her wearing a boot for the next six weeks. If this is the case, Laura is prepared to hang up her running shoes for this race and prepare for the next. Hopefully, though, this won’t be the case and Laura and I will cross the finish line, holding hands!

"To run a marathon, we train for months. Although we may not expect to win, we hope at least to do well in our age group or to top a personal best. When the big day comes, we strive to meet whatever goal we’ve set for ourselves – to win, in other words, on our own terms. If we don’t, are we losers? How could we be? We’ve worked hard, gotten into great shape, perhaps even made a new friend. These things have more lasting importance than any transient reward for crossing the finish line first.

"It’s great to set challenging goals for myself and then try to achieve them. Sometimes I will, but even when I don’t, I’ll have done some extraordinary work. "